The Lost Pretend
by PaBurke
Summary: Nothing like putting yourself out of reach.
1. Chapter 1

The Lost Pretend

By PaBurke

***Summary: Double Drabble. My first Atlantis Crossover. ***

***Disclaimer: I play, am not paid, do not own. No infringement intended.***

***Spoilers: Season Premiere for SGA and the Gemini-Storyline for Pretender. ***

***Distribution: Crossgate, Wormhole Crossing ***

Jarod 'Thatch' leaned back in his chair and grinned. The Ancients' technology truly challenged him. Falsifying his papers to join this expedition had proved to be a bother but well worth the rewards. Thankfully, he knew his father. Having a legitimate Air Force connection sped the process.

"Do you think Doctor McKay will realize you tweaked his experiment?" a quiet voice asked.

Jarod turned to his clone. The boy was a mirror image of him at that age but his self-esteem was severely battered from several years in Mr. Raines care. "Jay, don't worry. It works now. It's not as if they can throw us back."

Jay looked worried. "They won't be happy."

Jarod smiled. "We'll just have to make ourselves indispensable. Are you up to the mental challenge?"

A whisper of a smirk flitted across the solemn face. Jay was the main reason Jarod had pursued this assignment. Jay needed the opportunity to be safe and loved but the challenge to keep his mind out of trouble. Jarod had no regret about stowing Jay aboard with his equipment.

Just let Miss Parker and the Centre try and track them down. They would have to find the Lost City first.


	2. Chapter 2

The Lost Pretend II

By PaBurke

***Summary: Double Drabble. Jarod and clone in Atlantis. ***

***Disclaimer: I play, am not paid, do not own. No infringement intended.***

***Spoilers: Season Premiere for SGA and the Gemini-Storyline for Pretender. ***

***Distribution: Crossgate, Wormhole Crossing ***

Jarod watched his clone spy on the Atholsian children. He didn't need his vaunted credentials to know Jay was lonely and wishing for experiences with interpersonal relationships among those in the same age bracket. Until Jarod had proved his intelligence and loyalty to McKay and Sheppard respectively, the boy had to remain isolated.

"I know," Jay said unexpectedly.

Jarod stepped close and put a gentle hand on Jay's shoulder. "You know a lot," he answered as lightly as he dared. "What specifically, now?"

Jay smiled sadly. "I know it's not time to reveal myself."

"True." Jarod contemplated other lines of conversation they should address.

"Jarod," Jay preempted him. "It's alright. I knew when you proposed this… adventure that the probabilities for danger were high. The Wraith are well within the imaged dangers." Jay paused and considered, "If one is as highly imaginative and well-read in fantasy and science-fiction as we are."

Jarod laughed. "True."

Jay turned and faced him. "Thank you, Jarod, for bringing me to Atlantis."

Jarod read the absolute honestly in that young face. "You are very welcome, Jay." A sigh. "Ready to get back to work?"

Jay glanced one last time at the children at play. "Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

The Lost Pretend III

By PaBurke

***Summary: Double Drabble. Jarod and clone in Atlantis. ***

***Disclaimer: I play, am not paid, do not own. No infringement intended.***

***Spoilers: Season Premiere for SGA and the Gemini-Storyline for Pretender. ***

***Distribution: Crossgate, Wormhole Crossing ***

"Thatch!"

Jarod turned immediately to face Major Sheppard. "Yessir?"

"You ever piloted before?"

"I was once a test pilot for GenWing Industries," he answered honestly with a cheeky smile. Here, he was an Air Force supply officer who had learned to fly in his spare.

Sheppard was surprised at the mention of one of the most infamous Air Force suppliers. "Was that before or after the owner killed someone to hide a bad computer chip?"

Jarod remembered that pretend and hurting family. "I was there," was all he said.

Sheppard was impressed. "So you really can fly?"

"Yessir. Learned on a leave when I realized how civilians just assumed I could fly."

Sheppard laughed. "Carson tells me that your blood work just came back and that you have the ATA gene. I need to evaluate your capabilities."

"Of course, sir. Let me put this paper away," and tell Jay where he'd be, "and I'll meet you in the jumper bay in twenty."

Sheppard nodded and walked away. Jarod watched him. He and Jay were doing a genetic experiment to see how closely the ATA gene was to the Pretender one. If their theory was proven, how smart was Major Sheppard?


	4. Chapter 4

The Lost Pretend IV

By PaBurke

***Summary: Double Drabble. Jarod and clone in Atlantis. ***

***Disclaimer: I play, am not paid, do not own. No infringement intended.***

***Spoilers: Season Premiere for SGA and the Gemini-Storyline for Pretender. ***

***Distribution: Crossgate, Wormhole Crossing ***

The Chair was overloading.

Rodney was yelling. Zelenka was yelling. They were trying to direct teams and fix the problem or slow it down enough that the whole city didn't blow. John was sitting on the Chair trying to tell Atlantis to back off, to power down.

"Wait! What happened?" Rodney snapped. "It diffused."

"It's still building up," Zelenka warned.

"But away from people. You do that?" Rodney asked John.

"Don't think so."

"Dr. McKay?" someone called him on his earbud. But John could hear both sides of the conversation in I_his_/I earbud.

"Who is this?"

The other person ignored him, but John recognized him somehow. "We've managed to divert the energy. We can similarly prevent the build up at nodes 15 and 22, but we need someone on nodes 32 and 48 to…." Then the guy rattled off some scientific gobbly-gook that John didn't understand.

"Who is this!" Rodney demanded again.

"Is he right?" John asked.

Zelenka was already evaluating. "I believe so."

"Rodney?"

McKay pressed some buttons on his computer and then reluctantly nodded.

John made the decision to trust the voice. "Zelenka, get your team to 48. Rodney 32. Fix this now. We'll chat with whoever later."


	5. Chapter 5

The Lost Pretend V

By PaBurke

***Summary: Double Drabble. Jarod and clone in Atlantis. ***

***Disclaimer: I play, am not paid, do not own. No infringement intended.***

***Spoilers: Season Premiere for SGA and the Gemini-Storyline for Pretender. ***

***Distribution: Crossgate, Wormhole Crossing ***

"Who saved the day?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know," Rodney snapped. "My teams diverted some of the energy build up."

"After the Voice told you how," John reminded.

"I would have figured it out."

"Who is the Voice?" Elizabeth asked.

Pause.

"We don't know," admitted John.

McKay added, even though he was working on his computer. "He's not one of my scientists, but he should be if he's that smart."

"If he's that smart and he's not a scientist, than he could be Trust," Elizabeth reminded. "A Trust agent would want to keep Atlantis intact but not reveal himself."

"We don't know that he's Trust." John didn't know why he was defending the man who would not identify himself.

"I don't care if he's Trust." Both John and Elizabeth blinked at Rodney. "I want anyone that smart. Even if he's evil, I'd be able to use him more than some idiots."

"You have to find him first."

"I did," McKay crowed. He held up his computer. "Captain Thatch couldn't hide from me forever."

"Thatch?" Elizabeth couldn't remember the man. "John?"

"Supply officer with the ATA gene and a damn good pilot."

"Take him into custody and question him," Elizabeth ordered.


	6. Chapter 6

The Lost Pretend VI

By PaBurke

***Summary: Double Drabble. Jarod and clone in Atlantis. ***

***Disclaimer: I play, am not paid, do not own. No infringement intended.***

***Spoilers: Season Premiere for SGA and the Gemini-Storyline for Pretender. ***

***Distribution: Crossgate, Wormhole Crossing ***

Rodney had said that Jarod Thatch had to have had a co-conspirator to fix all the conduits.

So when Rodney and Zelenka finally over-rode the controls on the door to Thatch's room and the assault team streamed in, Sheppard wasn't expecting to find the co-conspirator in residence. He wasn't expecting the co-conspirator to be a I_child_/I, barely a teen.

The co-conspirator was standing behind Thatch, clutching Thatch's uniform with desperate hands.

"Colonel Sheppard," Thatch said quietly. "My guns are beside you. Our computers are on the bed. Our histories are in the silver cases." Different soldiers reported the statement as truth.

"I want to see the kid's hands." He had spent enough time in Afghanistan to know that sometimes children killed.

The kid slid out from behind Thatch. He only held handfuls of Thatch's clothes.

"What's your name, kid?" John asked.

The kid looked to Thatch for permission and Thatch nodded. "Jay," the kid whispered.

"Last name?" he prompted.

"We don't know our last name," Thatch answered for the kid. "You'll understand once you've viewed the security tapes."

John noticed that they looked similar. "Family?" he guessed.

Thatch wrapped his arms around Jay and looked John in the eye. "Clone."


	7. Chapter 7

The Lost Pretend VII

By PaBurke

***Summary: Double Drabble. Jarod and clone in Atlantis. ***

***Disclaimer: I play, am not paid, do not own. No infringement intended.***

***Spoilers: Season Premiere for SGA and the Gemini-Storyline for Pretender. ***

***Distribution: Crossgate, Wormhole Crossing ***

"Well, doc?" John Sheppard asked Carson Beckett.

Carson shook his head. "They spoke th'truth. Jay is Jarod's clone. Are we sure that they came from Earth?"

Sheppard nodded. "Yes. We have video surveillance of Jay from conception. Literally. It sure looks like humans manipulating the cells. Jarod handed over so many surveillance records that it will take weeks to go through. If not months or even a year; it doesn't matter that we have two players going at a time and that Rodney will have two more running in a day. Jarod's entire life is recorded from the time he was introduced into the Centre until the day he escaped. Decades."

Carson stripped off his gloves. "Why did they give you all that information?"

"So that we would trust them."

"Do we?"

"They're in the brig."

"Brig? You put a child in the brig?"

"With Jarod," John defended himself. "Besides, Jay feels safer in the brig with Jarod than outside alone. Teyla can't even get him to warm up to her. Honestly, after seeing some of his history, I'd be surprised if he will ever trust anyone but Jarod his entire life."

"What are we going to do with them?"


	8. Chapter 8

The Lost Pretend VIII

By PaBurke

***Summary: Double Drabble. Jarod and clone in Atlantis. ***

***Disclaimer: I play, am not paid, do not own. No infringement intended.***

***Spoilers: Season Premiere for SGA and the Gemini-Storyline for Pretender. ***

***Distribution: Crossgate, Wormhole Crossing ***

"I'm worried about the conditioning they endured," Elizabeth told John and Rodney. "What do you think?"

"Honestly," Rodney wasn't looking at them but looking at the computer pad Jarod 'Thatch' had been using. He was entranced with the information he was uncovering. "I'm jealous of their training."

"What?" His audience couldn't believe he said that.

"Private tutors to gently push you to excel academically? Can you imagine what I could've accomplished if someone had recognized my genius earlier?"

John was white-faced but set his jaw and opened up the video cases that the Jarods had prepped for explanation. He had spent hours upon hours watching the two men grow up. Unlike Jarod, he couldn't remember the videos by their IDs and had to label them. He placed the one labeled 'Halloween' in the video player on the left and the one labeled 'Junkie' in the right.

He made sure Rodney and Elizabeth were watching as in one video Jarod was deliberately killed and then resuscitated and in the other, how a cold so-called doctor methodically hooked a child onto heroin and then left him alone to go cold turkey off of it.

John couldn't watch it again. He walked out.


	9. Chapter 9

The Lost Pretend IX

By PaBurke

***Summary: Double Drabble. Jarod and clone in Atlantis. ***

***Disclaimer: I play, am not paid, do not own. No infringement intended.***

***Spoilers: Season Premiere for SGA and the Gemini-Storyline for Pretender. ***

***Distribution: Crossgate, Wormhole Crossing ***

John walked to the brig and dismissed the guard. The prisoners were sitting in the corner talking quietly. They looked too comfortable in the confined space, even if Jay hovered close to his original.

"Hey," John greeted them.

Jarod smiled easily. It amazed John that he never held ill will toward his captors. John had witnessed Jarod's odd relationship with 'Sidney.' "Any decision yet?"

John shrugged. "Are you Trust?"

Both males shook their head. "The Trust is connected to the Centre, we've found," Jarod admitted.

John didn't like hearing that. "Why are you here? If you can do anything?"

He earned a huge grin for that. "It's I_Atlantis_/I. We could be challenged and we wouldn't need to run from the Centre. They can't capture us here. We're safe."

"You're in the brig," John reminded them.

"It's bigger than my room at the Centre," Jay spoke up for the first time. "And you aren't using us to hurt people. You're observing us here; they observed us there constantly."

"Eventually you would have gotten a bigger room," Jarod told Jay.

"How much bigger?" John asked.

Jarod shrugged. "Twelve square feet."

"We'll see if we can't do better than that," John told them.


	10. Chapter 10

The Lost Pretend X

By PaBurke

***Summary: Double Drabble. Jarod and clone in Atlantis. ***

***Disclaimer: I play, am not paid, do not own. No infringement intended.***

***Spoilers: Season Premiere for SGA and the Gemini-Storyline for Pretender. ***

***Distribution: Crossgate, Wormhole Crossing ***

"When can we start using Jarod and his clone?" Rodney demanded of Elizabeth.

"His name is Jay," John cut in. "And we are I_not_/I going to I_use_/I them. We either leave them in the brig, or we let them out."

"We're not the Centre, John," Elizabeth reminded him. "We're not going to kill or torture them for experiments."

"How far is experimentation from using them?" John retorted.

"We're not using them," Elizabeth argued. "We are letting them do what they do best and keeping them where we are sure that they can't hurt the city's population."

"That's only one step away from the Centre's philosophy: they rationalized that they were making the Pretenders' lives easier by removing distractions. Elizabeth, why are you arguing for the slippery slope?"

Elizabeth stopped and thought about it. "Because you are arguing against it? Why are you so sure that we can trust them?"

"Because I've watched weeks worth of their lives, both the recent and many of their formative simulations. They have gentle souls."

"So can we let them out and take them to my lab," Rodney asked eagerly.

"Under strict supervision," Elizabeth cautioned.

John and Rodney were already on their way to brig.


End file.
